Roof structure.



W. S. L ZWICK. ROOF STRUCTURE. APPLICATIOE FILED JAN. 5. 19 11.

' Patented Sept. 4,1917.

UNITED STATES Parana? OFFICE.

WILLIAM S. J. ZWIGK, OF CLEVELAND, OI-IIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE FOREST CITY ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OI-IIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 1917.

Application filed January 5, 1917. Serial No. 140,662.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. J. ZwIoK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Roof Structures, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a building construction, more particularly for factory buildings, and the object is to provide a roof and roof truss of such a form as to enable the use of a translucent material as a part of the roof, and to so position the same as to permit the entrance of light directlyfrom the sky to the interior of the building, and provide a wide distribution of light over the floor.

Generally speaking, the invention may be said to comprise the elements and combinations thereof, set forth in the accompanying claims.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which the figure of the drawing shows in sectional elevation a building construction embodying my invention. 1

The lighting of factory buildings is almost as important as any other feature connected with it, and of particular importance is the lighting of the interior of the building directly by daylight. The type of building herein to which this invention relates is what is known as the saw tooth type of construction, and the drawing shows a building having two units of a modified saw tooth type.

In this type of building, the roof normally has a substantial vertical portion, such as indicated at A, and an inclined ortion such as indicated at B. These portions, A. and B intersect to complete the roof. It is usual to provide windows at the portion designated at A, and it is through these windows, normally, that the entire daylight illumination of the interior of the building must come, as well as by ventilation.

Under such conditions, it will be seen that the light entering through windows at the portion A, which reaches the floor of the building, must be reflected from the inner side of the roof, and where, as is usual in factory buildings, the roof becomes more or less grimy and coated with dirt or dust, the light reflected is of small amount, so that the quantity of light which thus is transmitted to the floor of the building is small.

Furthermore, where, as is usually the case, there are a number of units, the presence of a unit directly adjacent to the windows at the port-ion A, tends to shut off a certain amount of light which might otherwise be admitted through the windows at A.

It is the purpose of this invention to modify the so called saw tooth roof building construction, by removing the corner, if we may so term it, formed by" the intersection of the roof B with the side A, and to replace the part removed by a substantially flat slanting portion indicated at C, which will be of translucent material. If desired, this portion C may be pivoted or hinged to permit opening the same to any degree for purposes of ventilation.

It will be noted that the position of the translucent material at C is such that it receives light directly from the sky, and the presence of adjacent building units does not in any way affect the light received by the translucent portion 0.

Furthermore, it will be seen that light passing through the translucent material at C passes directly to the floor of the building, and so gives an interior illumination of the bluilding by light received directly from the s ry.

In connection with this construction it is my intention to use windows at the portion A, as has heretofore been done. These windows of course will admit as much light as they may, and are pivotally mounted so that they may be opened and closed. Thus they will be available for the purpose of ventilation, but the main source of illumination for the interior of the building will be through the translucent material at C.

Such a construction will necessarily involve a modification of the usual truss employed, as a roof truss for the saw tooth type of construction, in that the upper chord of the truss as indicated at D will not be quite so long as is usual, but will be shorter, and will be so positioned and braced as to permit the portion C of the roof to lie in a slanting position with respect to the other portion of the roof as indicated in the drawmg.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a roof construction of the saw tooth type, a substantially vertical portion and a lucent portion Which intersects both the slanting roof portion and a translucent p0rslanting roof portion and the Vertical portion which intersects the slanting portion, tion and extends at anangle to both said 10 and the vertical portion. portions.

2. A roof construction of the saw tooth In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my type comprises a slanting roof portion ancl signature. a substantially Vertical portion With a trans- VILLIAM S. J. Zl/VICK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

